Mayor Adrian Fenty today announced the launch of the Video
Interoperability for Public Safety (VIPS) program to connect the city’s
more than 5200 cameras into one network to provide additional public
safety support, while maximizing resources to provide a 24-hour a day, 7
day a week awareness for emergency managers.

When fully operational, VIPS will consolidate the various
closed-circuit television (CCTV) operations currently located in nine
different city agencies within the Homeland Security and Emergency
Management Agency (HSEMA). HSEMA will develop the system through a
partnership with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) who
will develop the technical framework for the program.

“The consolidation of the city’s CCTV functions within HSEMA will
provide the city with an advanced video monitoring system that will give
us the ability to streamline our resources to better capture information,”
said Mayor Fenty. “It will provide decision-makers with a more efficient
and effective source of video information, both for day-to-day monitoring
as well as during emergencies.”

Mayor Fenty noted that unlike CCTV initiatives in other major cities,
which only focus on crime, the VIPS program will also have an all-hazards
approach. VIPS will serve as an advanced video monitoring system that
provides real-time and after-event video capture and storage.

HSEMA Director Darrell Darnell said, “In developing the VIPS program
we were careful to ensure that our use of CCTV monitoring be proportional,
legal, accountable and necessary and that we have safeguards in place that
prohibit the release of images except for purposes of crime prevention and
detection.

“Our guidelines will ensure that cameras are installed at locations
based on public safety needs, that the system is used only for the purpose
of enhanced situational awareness and not for other labor or employee
performance reasons and that we have safeguards in place to prevent
improper access to images and maintain records that show access and chain
of custody for images.”

VIPS will provide instantaneous situational awareness through a common,
interoperable infrastructure and framework. Implementation will proceed in
two phases, resulting in a CCTV system that operates 24 hours a day, 365
days a year and support requirements of multiple District agencies.

Phase one of the program will consolidate CCTV monitoring functions
under one roof for four current video user agencies, including The
District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Protective Services
Division (PSD) of the Office of Property Management (OPM), the District of
Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA).
During this phase, HSEMA will develop standards for CCTV technology and
will establish policies and procedures for multi-agency procurement and
other administrative tasks.

During phase two of the project, all remaining CCTV user agencies will
be integrated into a central facility and a new common monitoring facility
will be established.

It is expected that the VIPS program will reduce the cost to monitor
the city’s CCTV cameras by one third, improve command and control
interoperability for all hazards and greatly enhance the city’s
capability to fight and prevent crime, monitor traffic safety and maintain
situation awareness and site security, both during day-to-day monitoring
as well as during emergencies.